Weekly Dose: sofosbuvir – what’s the price of a hepatitis C cure?
Weekly Dose: sofosbuvir – what’s the price of a hepatitis C cure?Greg Dore, UNSW Australia and Marianne Martinello, UNSW AustraliaSofosbuvir is one of a number of new direct-acting antiviral drugs …
Quadrivalent flu vaccine to replace trivalent
A new quadrivalent vaccine will replace Fluvax, Sequiris’ trivalent vaccine for the 2017 flu season.“It is generally accepted that QIV is becoming the preferred seasonal vaccine, as was the case …
PSA launches online CPD Planning Tool
A new, easy-to-use online CPD Planning Tool for pharmacists has been launched by PSA.The intuitive CPD tool – developed and extensively tested by PSA – is free for members and …
My Health Record hits 4 million subscribers
The number of registered people equals 17% of all Australians, says Health Minister Sussan LeyLey says following the re-launch of the My Health Record in February, there has been a …
Forum: dose counter needed for salbutamol inhalers
“I call on the regulators to insist that all inhaled medications for asthma and COPD have a dose counter that is readable by patients with low vision. We currently have …
There’s life beyond pharmacy’s walls
Despite the gloom settling over the pharmacy sector, there’s actually more opportunities out there than ever, writes Karalyn HuxhagenOpportunities for those of us pharmacists of a more mature age appear …
HMR caps still a concern
The issue of funding caps on the HMR and RMMR programs has again raised its head during a discussion of professional service trials.In a panel discussion at the recent PSA16 …
Price reduction for combinations
A range of combination medicines are due to experience price cuts in the 1 October round of price disclosure measures.The newly advised cuts will affect combination drugs due to experience …
Sore throat and sinusitis, and the few benefits of antibiotics
A new analysis of the evidence suggests antibiotics have very few benefits for treating sore throat and acute sinusitis.Both conditions are common reasons for visits to GPs.Chris Del Mar, Professor …
Sending sick staff home may spread disease faster
It’s become a common-sense policy suggested by health stakeholders the world over: stay home when you’re sick, to avoid spreading infection.But during an epidemic of infectious diseases such as flu, …
New online Indigenous Lung Health Checklist launched
Lung Foundation Australia in collaboration with the Queensland Government’s Indigenous Respiratory Outreach Care Program have developed the first ever Australia-wide Lung Health Checklist specifically for the Indigenous community.The Checklist takes …
‘Beady greedy eyes of pharmacy owners’ – What you said
Two days ago, we reported on the PSA16 panel session examining pay rates for pharmacists, which PSA CEO Lance Emerson called “the single largest issue facing the profession in community …